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Family pilgrimage gathers in St. Peter's Square

26/10/2013

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is scheduled to join a rally this evening in St. Peter’s
Square, with families gathered in Rome on pilgrimage. Ahead of the celebration, public
security officials expect about 200,000 people.

The event will conclude on
Sunday with Holy Mass in St. Peter's Basilica presided over by the Pope. Saturday's
rally and Sunday's Mass are part of a weekend Family Pilgrimage to the Tomb of St.
Peter, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family. The theme is “Families,
live the joy of the faith”. It comes on the heels of the Council’s three-day Plenary
Assembly, which concluded yesterday.

Pilgrims began making their way to St.
Peter’s early Saturday morning. By 2:30 p.m., tens of thousands of people from about
70 countries—mostly moms, dads, their children and grandparents—had gathered in the
square for a rally ahead of the mass.

Several artists and presenters were
slated to reflect on the reality of marriage and family life. Some couples were also
to offer witness to both the beauty and the disappointments—from raising children
as foster parents to marriage breakdown and separation, and then how they lived these
struggles in faith.

The schedule for the family pilgrimage on Sunday morning
includes recitation of the Rosary in St. Peter’s Square, followed by mass with the
Pope and the Angelus.

Young people were invited to participate in a special
way. Children sent Pope Francis drawings of their families, and teens submitted songs
they wrote to the organizers. The best drawings and songs were featured at the rally.

Pope Francis has taken the family as one of the central themes of his pontificate.
He announced earlier this month that next year’s synod of bishops will focus on this
theme.